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Phoenix Rising
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| The piano and flute duo Phoenix Rising is named after the phoenix from the Egyptian myth that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise, renewed from its ashes.
Monica Williams (flute) and Wendy Loomis (pianist and composer) come together to create a powerful union in their debut CD 'Whispers' (Delvian Records). The ensemble uses piano and flute as its core, adding an array of strings, woodwinds, and percussion into various aspects of the ensemble. The music they create is mystical, powerful, and lyrical resulting in beautiful scenescapes of light and energy.
MONICA WILLIAMS
Flutist Monica Williams is a graduate of Eastman School of Music and has studied with Bonita Boyd, Susan Levitin, and Brad Garner. Some of her awards include First Place at Civic Union League of Chicago, First Place in Chicago Flute Club Competition, Rochester Flute Association Masterclass Winner, and recognition in the Chicago Symphony Young Performers competition and the National Flute Association Masterclass competition. She has performed with orchestras in Rochester NY, Cincinnati OH, and Chicago IL. Currently, Monica is a member of COPUS, director of Flock of Flutes, and founder of the Flock of Flutes Young Artist Competition. Monica teaches private flute at Civic Arts Center of Walnut Creek and the Korean Art Center of San Francisco.
www.bayareaflutist.com
WENDY LOOMIS
“Artist director, pianist, and composer Wendy Loomis paints with a broad palette of jazz, classical, new age, avant garde and world colors, fusing styles ranging from Debussy to Thelonious Monk.” (Kelley Dolan, noHands Records). Wendy has released 6 CDs of her compositions: 'Anything I Perceive' (vocal single); 'Jah Provide' (world rhythm ensemble COPUS trilogy); 'Whispers' (Phoenix Rising); 'Later Than You Think' (COPUS); 'Piano + Friends' and 'strange conjunction' (Wendy Loomis). Recently she won the ASCAPlus Award in recognition for her body of work. Wendy is co-founder and president of independent music label Copus Music LLC, the music director of an alternative church service, and a teacher at her San Francisco studio. Wendy earned her master's degree in education from Syracuse University and her bachelor's degree in creative arts from Denison University.
www.wendyloomis.com
For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/bayareacontemporarymusic
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Whispers
For inspiration, instruction, appreciation, encouragement, occasional criticism, financial support, and continuous love, we are eternally grateful to many people: our families (Ma + Pa, Randy + Diane, Lisa, and the two Michaels), the Copus crew (visionary Royal Kent, Greg, Anna, all previous members), and our many teachers and friends (Mrs. Stocklinkski; Denison folks, Gwendolyn Shrader, William Osborne, William Brasmer; Betsey, Debra, and Hannibal; Bonita Boyd, Susan Levitan, Tom Drake; Eastman Class of '99, especially Aaron Goldman). See you at the Grammy's!
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Ascension
ABOUT THIS CD ...
We are living in a time of stress and struggle. There is still hunger, hatred, and sickness in a world that is also filled with such beauty, generosity, and harmony. ASCAP award-winning composer Wendy Loomis and Eastman School of Music alumna Monica Williams decided to create a CD that had the power to help people relax, de-stress, and energize with positive vibrations of gratitude for this life. While Wendy was in the middle of a yoga class, she had a vision of the CD being organized around the 7 chakras. For those of you unfamiliar, the 7 chakras are energy centers that run up the human body from the base of the spine, to the sexual center, the stomach, the heart, the throat, the 3rd eye between the eyebrows, and the crown of the head. Many people have developed systems that associate colors and tones with each chakra. Monica and Wendy decided not to be quite so literal in their interpretation, but rather incorporate the idea of energy rising from our most earthly, primal instincts up toward our higher, nobler, spiritual realm – the eternal quest to ascend toward the Higher Power. And ASCENSION was born.
7 is a lucky and inspiring number that is threaded through ASCENSION: there are 7 tones in a scale, the compositions are in 7 different key signatures, the music is played on 7 primary instruments, Monica was born in ’77, and this is the 7th CD of Wendy’s music.
With the exception of ‘Seed’ and ‘Nourishment’ which were improvisations, the themes for this CD were composed by Wendy Loomis. Monica and Wendy arranged the flute and piano sounds in a weave with instruments from around the world played by a group of very talented women: Jennifer Lim on guzheng (China); Debra Podjed on tabla (India) and goat hooves (Bolivia); Jessica Styler on hang drum (Switzerland); Suellen Primost on cello (Italy); Irina Mikhailova on voice (born in Russia); and Karen Segal on guitar (Spain/the Middle East).
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